Shock-absorber mechanism.



J. HOFMANN.

SHOCK ABSORBER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-31 1911,

Patqnted Mar. 18,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. HOFMANN.

' SHOCK ABSORBER MECHANISM. APPLICATION HLFD AUG-3|. 19H.

1,297,849. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

. JosnF HOFMANN, or BAUMAR H SWITZERLAND.

' SHOCK-ABSORBER MECHANISM.

allfwhom it may concern;

. Be" it known that I, J OSEF l-lorivmim,a citizen of Switzerland, residing at Baumaroche, Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shock-Absorber Mechanisms; and I do hereby declare the following 'to be av full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and-use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form' a part 'of this. specification.

-My invention relates to means. applicable to vehicles to improve the suspension of the body thereof, and is used inconjunction with the main vehicle springs" or body avoid the pitching of the body, and also provide means for compensatingfor load.

springs.

The object of the invention is to decrease as. far as possible. the motion of thebody with respect to the running gear, and to Theinvention, therefore, consists in the combination and arrangement of parts of .the--1necl1anisin included between the body or frame of the vehicle and its main springs.

V the addition of front shock absorbing means.

Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are similarly designate Figure 1' is aside elevation illustrating mechanism embodying my invention.

i Fig. 2 is a like View, certain parts re moved to obtain a different efiect. A

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, with Fig.4 1s a view similar to Fig. 1, but em- Jploying other partsthan those of Figs. 2 and 3;

InFig. 1;,theframe 1 is provided with a member or'r'ear extension 2. .The rear axle 3. carries a well-known type of body spring 4, the forward end of which isconnected to the framefby a shackle 5.

The front. aXle 6 carries a front spring 7 having'its rear end connected to a bracket 8 secured to theframe 1".

Between the rear end of the rear spring el and the end of the frame extension 21 secure a. shock absorber consisting of a'plufality of pivotally connected levers as folows:

Secured to the end of the body spring 4 Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed August 31, 1917. Serial N 0. 189,135

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

is a lever 910 pivotally connected to the v,

spring end at 11 between the portions Sand 10 and the forward end of the ar1n9 is held to the spring 1 by means of a clamp 12. The

arm 10 of the lever is downwardly and out-l.

'wa-rdly inclined, and this inclination can be adjusted by raising or lowering .the arm 9, the degree of adjustability being con-' trolledby shims, not shown, slipped be tight by clamp 12. Any other meansmay be used to effect the adjustmenhas mayseem desirable.

Pivoted at 10 in the endo-fthe'arin 1'0 tween the arm 9 andthe spring land held,

hanging over the endof'spring li'sa lever l3, having between its ends an ofl setll to wh ch is pivotally connected at 1 1; me end of a link 15 curved substantially.aujshown.

The other end of link 15 is. pivoted to the end of the frame extension 2 at Qt The end of the lever 13,11as a cylindrical portion on which is secured a spli. spring sleeve 16, said sleeve being adjustable along the cylindrical portion 13 and forming an adjustable leverage connection for asprin retracted belt 17. One end of thebelt 1 is connected to the sleeve 16' and to the other end is connected :1. spring 18 that is either directly or indirectly "connectedto a 'wn-e rope 19 or. the equivalent, for increasing or diminishing the action of the spring. 1 This rope 19 passes over a roller 20' to a winding spindle 21 provided with ajsquared end for the reception of a wrench. The spindle is mounted in a bracket 22'on which is pivoted a pawl 23 engaging a ratchet wheel 24- secured to the spindle 21 and arranged to prevent the un'windingof therope .from the spindle.

In said Fig. 1 the spring 18 indirectly to the rope 19. That is to say, it' is connected to the lower end of a bell: crank lever 25-26, pivotally mounted at 27 in a bracket28 secured to the rear spring24. The upper-arm 26' of this bell-crank lever has pivoted thereto one end of a link 29 Whose other end is pivoted to a bracket .30 on. the frame 1. interposed between the arm 25 and rope 19 is a second spring 31'.

Included between the downwardly bentfront of the frame and the front spring 7 is a shock absorber comprising a curved link 32 the upper end of which is pivoted to the front of the frame, and the lower end is pivoted to ashort arm 33 of a double hellcrank lever 34. The upper end of-lever 34 pivoted to the end of body spring7, and

to the .lower end is connected one end of a spring 35 the other end of which is spring-0 connected to a bracket j I provide at the rear shock absorber a re movable shackle 36 which is inserted or removed by thevehicle owner between the end of extension-2 and the center 11 at the end of the spring 4." i a The mechanism thus described is dupli-.

tated at the other side of the vehicle.

s The insertion of the shackle 36 eliminates the action of the rear shock absorber, as it forms a direct connection between the end -offrame extension '2' and -main spring 4. a s v In this instance the bell-crank lever -26 and link 29 is effective to prevent'pitching of 4 the vehicle in connection with the rope 19 :passing to the takemp spindl'e'Ql over-roller 2.0, Assume that the front of the frame rises from the front axle. 'Therope 19 secured tothe frame 1 passes under the front axle and is drawn over r01ler'20. The-coil spring 31 is-tightened creating an extra pull 25-7-26 to move to the right and allow the frame 1 to approach spring 4,-thus maintaining a parallel downward movement of the frame 1 instead of a downward move.

ment at one or the other end of the frame thus releasing the'coil spring 35, allowing the load on the frame axle downward;

received by the front wheels. I .onthe short arm 33' to swing lever 34 to the causing the unpleasant pitching.

. When additional passengers or luggage are added, say at the rear, spindle 24 is wound u to tighten spring 31 and open the angle between arm 27 and link 29 and thus supplement the main spring 4. at the' same time the front" end of the frame is drawn down to. a substantially horizontal I, i theactio'n of'the The front shock absorber operates to ease" line.

the transmission to the frame of heavy jolts Link 32 acts right when the front axle 6 appniachcs the framc 1, thus extcndingcoil spring 35. Thisspringv therefore acts to retard the movein'ent of the front axle toward the frame.

When the front axle tends to rebound from the frame, lever 34 swingsto theleft,

to follow the "front the rear end of withrespect to the pull of spring 18. A The pivot between arm 14 and link 15 is properly to the right of 3a line through the pivot points 2 and 11.

When the rearaxle 3 rises with respect to the-frame 1, the end'll of'the main spring 1 moves toward the pivot point?" thus moving the arm" 14 around pivot point 11 as a center until the pivot points 11, '10 and 14 are in alinement.- Any. further movement would .tend to raise the pivot 2* directly, and not through the medium ,of the main spring. Beforereacliing this point'in the movement of 'the'levers, the pivot point 14 touches the belt 17, thereby causing the belt 17 to be drawn about-an arc with 10 l"4 as a radius and extending the spring at a more rapid rate than if extended by the radius 10 16.

A The reason for this is that when the points 11, 10 and '14 are alined the pointlG is in the last part of its quadrant'of movement and the cosine of the angle increases at a lower rate as it approaches a horizontal,

'while by transferring thepoint of action to 14 which is more nearly vertical, the cosine of the angle changes at a faster rate.-

'The coil spring 18 tends to rapidly return the parts of the shock absorber to normal position,a11d'this actionis assistedbya pull on the rope' throwing the front axle and front part of the frame together. This action of increasing the resistanccat the end of the movement of the respective parts is the aim of all spring makers, as it is preferable to arrest the motion gradually, rather than by allowing the frame to strike a bumper or the axle.

When 'theaxle" m'oves downward from the framel pivot point 14 moves upward, thuseausing point 16 to swing to the right, releasing the coil spring 18 and at the'samc timereleasing the rope 1f), sothat the front axle and body will be free to separate under main spring7 and coil spring 35.

The gravity of the vehicle body hud the reduced 'resistanceof the coil springs bring the levers to their normal position.

In Fig.1 Q'I have illustrated the use of the rear' shock absorber combined with the rope ingornitted x-In Fig. :3 I have illustrated amechanism the same as shown in Fig. 2, but with the -,-addition of the front shock absorber, and in Fig. -t I have. shown only the construction that mitigates the pitching action. In this figure the shackle 367" has an. extension 36" depending below the pivotal connection at 3 .11 to permit the coilspr-ing 18 to be interposed between it and lever 25, as w thout .-:spring l'e the spring- 31 would tend to stitl'en the suspension unnecessarily. The spring .18- otlsets the stiffening action of spring 31 without, interfering with this latter spring niatter to change an automobile eqi ipped with the structure shown in Fig. l to any of the other terms.

lit)

For example, if the shackle 36 eliminates the action oi the rear shock absorber, a like shackleinserted between the front spring and the frame will also eliminate the action of the front shock absorber, if the vehicle suspension is too soft.

In addition to the above, by releasing the rope ll) to such an extent that there will be no tension on the springs 18 or 31 the action of the anti-pitching device is eliminated, and the vehicle will then be subjected'only to the action of the main springs.

l claim-- 1. The combination with a vehicle frame. and a. main spring,- of a lever having an extending arm between its ends, said lever pivotally connected at one end to the end of the main spring, a coil spring under tension connected to and having influence only on the other end of said lever, and a link pivoted at one end to aframe member and at itsother end to said arm.

2. The (annbination with a. vehicle fi'aciiie and a main spring; of a lever having three, points of connection, one of said points bein; connected to the end ol said main spring a coil spring: under tension being connected to another point oi said lever, and

and a front and'rear main spring audit-he,

axles thereof; of a shock .2 bsorber conne ted between a frame member and the rear end of one of said springs, and a. flexible connect int: element between said shock absorber and a frame nieni,ber and passing under nectiiig elen'ient between said shock the axleat the other spring, and a coil spring interposed-in said flexible connecting element.

4. The combination with a vehicle frame and a front and rear main spring and. the axles thereof; of a shock absorber connected between a frame member and the rear end of one of said springs, and a flexible consorbet and a frame nien'i ber and passing n der the axle at the other spring, and a c it spring interposed in said flexible connecting element, and means to shorten and lengthen said flexible connection and thereby vary the tension of said coil, spring. 5. In eonibinatioi'i with a vehicle frame and a main sprin rigidly connected to spring and having a downwardly and Outwardly inclined arm, a lever pivotally connected at one end to the aforesaid lever arm, a eoilspring under tension connected to the other end of the latter lever, and a link the end of said main pivoted at one end to a frame nien'iber and;

at its other end intermediate the ends of the second lever.

7. The combination with a vehicle frame,

main spring and front. axle; of a lever havna; three points ot connection, one of said points being pivotally connected to the end of said main spring,'one end of a coil springconnected to the other end of said lever, a link pivotally connected to'a Irame member and pivotally connected interme diate the ends of said lever, a bell crank lever pivotally mounted between the ends of said main spring and having an arin connected to said spring. a. link pivotally connected to the other arin'ol said bell crank lever and to said t'rame, a flexible connectin; element between said bell crank lever passing under the front axle and connected to the frame. and a coil spring interposed in said connecting element.

S. The combination with a vehicle frame, two springs and their supporting axle; of a. bell-crank lever pivotally mounted between the ends of one of said springs, a link pivotally connecting: the frame and one end of said bell-crank levcna flexible, adjustable.

connecting element. between the other end of,

said bell-crank lever and a frame member, pasing under the axle for the other spring of a two-armed lever,

end connected to the frame, and a coil spring connecting points, one of said points pivotally connected to the main spring, a link pivotally connectingthe intermediate ,point of said lei er to said frame, a coil spring,

connected to the third point of ,said lever and means to adjust the point of connection of said coil spring along said lever for. balancing the dead load. t

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name thereto. I

J OSEF HOFMANN. 

